The once paradise like scenery had been destroyed in the blink of an eye, with nothing to show for it except the blood that currently soaked the earth. Stepping out of the crater, the young boy walked along the still moist riverbed in what appeared to be something like sandals, but they were well suited to the current occasion. Scaly creatures with gills and fins of all manner could be seen flopping about on the cold ground, failing to secure even one last breath of oxygen.
He walked over to the fair skinned girl, crawling away and clutching her right side. The trail of fresh blood she was seeping was an obvious hint about her current condition.
She had only survived the explosion earlier thanks to her hasty use of majic to reinforce her body even after the initial piece of debris had already pierced her. Her comrades, however, weren't so resourceful.
(Even with such abundant mana completely at our disposal, and arcane stage weapons, how were we so easily overpowered?)
The girl was still in disbelief about the current situation even as she crawled away.
"Now you've made me ruin this spot."
Cecilia shivered at the sound of that voice. It didn't sound malicious in the slightest, but the origin of those sound waves was a dominator that single handedly bested her entire unit in combat.
"Ack!"
She squealed, now coughing up blood, her quivering body was undoubtedly running on fumes right now.(If only I could use healing Majic as well as Tiana) she thought. But the mere act of reminiscing about the druid girl had caused her to recall nightmarish memories that had only just been created. Turning around slowly, she saw a pair of bright golden Irises gleaming down at her, holding neither hatred nor remorse but instead, ambivalence. She obviously knew who was superior in this situation, but despite that - She still clenched her bloodied fist.
"Hrrrrgh"
She had forced herself to her knees, before channeling all her will into another burst of strength, standing up to face the boy before her.
"Hah...hah....you're definitely a monster...but... if I can slow you down for even a few seconds, then the chances of my comrades escaping increase with every one that passes."
Kanon stared in bewilderment.
(Yea right, I'd be lucky to survive another ten seconds.....But even so...)
But even so, the girl refused to dispel her false bravado.
"Oh? Even though they abandoned you?" He asked, curiosity now filling his flat tone.
"I wouldn't blame anyone for running away from a monster like you" the girl retorted.
"A monster, eh? That one's not exactly new."
Even on the verge of death, she couldn't help but wonder what he'd meant by that, until....
Slice!
There was a high pitched sound of the air being sliced through. In one swift strike, the spot where Kanon had previously been standing was completely cleaved in two .The attack had formed what appeared to be a miniature canyon, only three meters wide.
"Winson!!"
The injured girl shouted. Hope filling her eyes once more.
"Oh? You're still alive huh? I actually tried to knock your head off with that one strike, but the fact that you're still alive means you must be pretty tough."
"That was nothing."
Claimed the man in the knight styled armor, pieces of it clearly torn off. So he'd said but after that one blow, Winson had constantly been fighting for his consciousness ever since. It was by sheer force of will that he managed to rejoin the battle this quickly. He approached the only two survivors in this atmosphere of death and despair, clearly being dominated by a single golden eyed boy. With blood now trickling down the left side of his face, he examined the area, taking note of every single one of his fallen comrades before stopping In front of the only one still alive. Cecilia could only look away upon the sight of her captain holding back his immense grief. Reaching into his breast pocket and retrieving a small bottle containing a pink liquid, Winson tossed it to the girl behind him.
"C-Captain this is!"
It was the A grade recovery item Anarossi, a majic potion that could induce fast acting recuperative effects. It wasn't all powerful, but it could snatch one from the jaws of death. It was a miracle as to how the small glass bottle had survived the previous impact, but now the effectiveness of this A grade item would truly be put to the test.
"Take it. I'll be out soon" the man calmly exclaimed.
Despite his brave words Cecilia knew, she knew exactly how powerful this opponent was, after all he had just brought her to the brink of death. This was the only time her faith in her ever-astute captain, Winson Crucible had waned. But unfortunately, now wasn't the time to question his decisions. She chugged the bottles contents as if her life depended on it, and soon afterwards a sense of relief washed over her as the anchor like feeling previously weighing her down soon began to dissipate. The girl viewed the gallant figure of her captain from behind one last time before turning away and uttering a farewell so quiet even the passing wind could barely carry it.
"See you soon, Captain."
"Yea, take care kid."
Receiving her final reply, she took off towards the remains of the forest path with an immense burst of speed, but this was just her use of a simple wind maneuver spell. She was taking advantage of the abundant mana flourishing in the atmosphere to maximize its effects and propel herself even faster than usual.
"You actually let her go." Winson spoke in a surprised tone.
"I'm not the bad guy here. If we were weak, you would've done the same to us."
The man laughed upon hearing those words. They were completely true, but he was now laughing at how foolish he'd been. Being able to laugh freely in a situation like this could only mean two things -Either he could kill his negative emotions at any time, or he had no sense of fear or danger. Whatever it was though, it wasn't normal. Coming off his fleeting moment of joy, Winson promptly shifted to a combat ready stance, absorbing as much of the abundant mana around him as possible.
"HAAH!!" The tension now escaping from his glowing body was almost palpable. Only a man who'd fully committed himself to the endeavor could emit that sort of pressure.
"You people really rely on that stuff too much."
Kanon muttered disinterestedly as he watched his adversary strengthen himself with every passing second like it was none of his business.
"Oh, so you do know about mana. Then why don't you use it?"
Shrugging his shoulders, the boy lazily replied -
"It's not very efficient. You humans don't know what real power is."
Winson wondered why he spoke as if he wasn't human himself, but that didn't matter at this point.
"Oh? If that's the case then why don't you show me this 'power' of yours?" The over charged man asked, prattling on as a means of buying time to prepare his next attack.
"Alright then. I'll humor you."
"Lovely!"
The lone chevalier grinned with his ecstatic reply.
"When I say power, this is what I mean."
An oppressive aura suddenly filled the air, forcing Winson to stop his raging mana charge and grovel to his knees, fighting the urge to vomit. Even Cecilia who was well on her way by now had come to an abrupt halt, turning towards the place where she felt that immense terror coming from, the place where her captain was fighting.
The boy now possessed ashen grey hair and a pair of crimson pupils that had a peculiar pattern engraved on his Irises. It seems he couldn't help but deviate from the standard description of what Asura were supposed to be. Some overwhelming power was being emitted from his body in the form of a silver aura, but it wasn't mana, it was unlike anything Winson had ever felt before. Looking up, he saw something beyond the realm of humans emitting a faint white glow, leaving him both mesmerized and terrified at the sight of the creature in front of him.
But still, he couldn't back down here. Who knows what'd happen to his comrades if he did?
Rising to his feet, he composed himself. The chevalier extended both hands in front of him, forming a triangular shape with his middle and index fingers, while using his thumbs to support the base of the construct. The air around Winson began to dance violently, as if being sucked into a vortex and soon enough the man exhaled a breath of air that carried the brunt of his pent up angst.
"Pyrolux" (Burning light)
In the wake of his command a white light was abruptly emitted from the triangular space he formed - Cutting through the lukewarm air the attack split the riverbank like a laser, scorching the once soggy ground where the boy stood beyond recognition.
Although he was decent enough with Majic, Winson wasn't as versed in the arts when compared to Cecilia or Tiana. He preferred close quarter combat, but with his once arcane level scythe in pieces, he knew engaging his opponent unarmed posed too much of a risk.
"That one was pretty good!"
Kanon exclaimed in a jovial tone, appearing in a completely different spot from before, making it seem as if he had just teleported - But that wasn't it, he was just that fast. Winson knew that fact better than anyone who had faced him in the past ten minutes.